About: This short piece recounts some of the stories that were associated with this well at the time of writing in 1907. Originally known as St. Boden’s Well, we find out how it came to be called Father Germaine’s Well, before being dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel around 1902.

About: T. M. O’Reilly from Ballyknockan was a local councillor and writer with a great appreciation of local history. According to Fr. Cantwell of Valleymount, he produced several pamphlets. This booklet mentions old churches and houses of prayer as well as sites of historical or archaeological interest. The derivations of placenames is also featured. The second part of the booklet deals with the various priests who have ministered in the area.

ID number(s): None

Extra #1: Link to the full text of this booklet via this page at blessington.jimdo.com.

Extra #2: Hat tip to John Hussey who maintains the Blessington.jimdo.com website for posting the text of this booklet online.

About: The inaugural publication of a set of articles on aspects of the history and heritage of areas that surround Blessington Lake. All articles are concise ranging from snippets to four and a half pages. Plans are already afoot for the next issue.

About: This is the last of four collections (so far) of local history material which was first published separately in various issues of the Valleymount Parish News. This last issue was never made available as such. Rather, John Hussey has gathered together various pieces that were mostly not already included in the first three volumes to make up a virtual fourth volume of material. The major article here recounts an altar boy’s memories of local parish priest, Fr. John Moynihan.

About: This is the third of four collections of local history material which was first published separately in various issues of the Valleymount Parish News. It covers areas such as Lacken, Baltyboys, Blessington, Poulaphuca and Valleymount. About one-third of this issue is taken up with an article about the various parish priests that have served in the parish. The publication is photocopied rather than printed and the quality of reproduction reflects this.

About: This book is part of a series produced by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland, which aims to list all known archaeological monuments in each county. This Wicklow catalogue alone lists 1200 sites. It would be invidious to pick out just some places of major importance. Suffice to say that no matter what part of West Wicklow you come from, there is sure to be at least one item of archaeological interest listed here.

About: This article looks at the documentary evidence for the name of Burgage and for the former name of Donagh-Emlagh (meaning Church of the boggy land). The author also visits the local churchyard and comments on the remains of various buildings and monuments that he observed there.

Full title: Rathdangan heritage trail : a walk through time from Killamoat Church to Cranareen Cemetery

Creator / Author: Rathdangan Community Council

Item Type / Page count: Booklet / 28p

When Published: 2009

Publisher / Place of Publication: Rathdangan Community Council / Rathdangan, Co. Wicklow.

About: A well-illustrated description of a heritage trail in the Rathdangan district which links many points of historical interest. Another excellent example of a local community initiative to highlight the heritage and history of their neighbourhood.

About: This is the second of four collections of local history material which was first published separately in various issues of the Valleymount Parish News. It covers areas such as Lacken, Baltyboys, Blessington, Poulaphuca and Valleymount. The major article in this collection is on the history of Valleymount G.A.A. club. It is a photocopied rather than printed publication and the quality of reproduction reflects this.

About: An article by this Grangecon author on various archaeological features known to him as well as historical snippets gleaned from conversations with locals. The area covered ranges widely from Glen of Imaal to the Carlow border. The amount of information on each topic is relatively sparse and probably deserves fuller treatment. The biggest section of the article is given over to the family of Rev. Benjamin Neale.

ID number(s): 0332-0782

Extra #1: includes some rough illustrations and the Neale Family coat-of-arms.